[Milliwatt Rob]

I was in my favorite small Chevy dealer here in Vermont, and asked the sales manager when he expected to have Bolts for sale. To my surprise, he told me that he is not selling any. Apparently, to sell Bolts, you have to be able to service them. And at this time, it would be just too much of a commitment for them to gear up to sell and service Bolts, for the small number they will expect to sell. I was disappointed.

Apparently, here one will have to go to a larger dealership. Maybe even one in nearby Massachusetts.

One of the problems here in Vermont is, there are no state incentives to buy an electric vehicle. And up to now, the short ranges limit their practicality when the closest supermarket is 20 miles away.

However, he would be more than happy to sell me a Volt. Or a diesel Cruze or Equinox when GM makes them available.

 

[DucRider]

I was in my favorite small Chevy dealer here in Vermont, and asked the sales manager when he expected to have Bolts for sale. To my surprise, he told me that he is not selling any. Apparently, to sell Bolts, you have to be able to service them. And at this time, it would be just too much of a commitment for them to gear up to sell and service Bolts, for the small number they will expect to sell. I was disappointed.

Apparently, here one will have to go to a larger dealership. Maybe even one in nearby Massachusetts.

One of the problems here in Vermont is, there are no state incentives to buy an electric vehicle. And up to now, the short ranges limit their practicality when the closest supermarket is 20 miles away.

However, he would be more than happy to sell me a Volt. Or a diesel Cruze or Equinox when GM makes them available.

It's not unreasonable to require dealers that sell them to service them - I would certainly expect it.
The buy in to service the Bolt is around $40K - a big chunk of the that is the purchase and installation of an 80 kW DCFC unit.

 

[bro1999]

I've heard that if a dealer can't move 50 Bolts of year, it will be very hard to justify upgrading with the fast charging units.

 

[dayone]

It's odd to me that the dealer is Volt certified but not Bolt certified. I wonder what the additional requirements are.

 

[DucRider]

It's odd to me that the dealer is Volt certified but not Bolt certified. I wonder what the additional requirements are.

Install an 80 kWh DCFC, training for the technicians and some additional diagnostic tools.

 

[alohabolt]

We have done some checking. Bolt dealership privilege comes with a price to dealers, about $25,000 to carry the Bolt. This is a similar arrangement to the limited dealers that carried the former Chevy SSR model. Selling at MSRP means dealers make about $1000 per car over invoice. So, do the math, dealers need to sell 25 Bolts before they start making money on this EV. No surprise that the roll out is in West Coast States, and authorized dealers mostly in high volume markets.

 

[dayone]

Install an 80 kWh DCFC, training for the technicians and some additional diagnostic tools.

I mistakenly thought the chargers were also a Volt requirement.

 

[DucRider]

I mistakenly thought the chargers were also a Volt requirement.

The Volt does not have the capability to use Fast Charging (DCFC), so dealers only needed to install L2 240V AC equipment.
The Bolt has optional DCFC (CCS or SAE Combo) which is much higher power. It requires 480 V three phase service, and the charger cost is about $15K (to the dealer - installation not included).
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_infrastructure.html
or
http://www.plugmyride.org/downloads/Handout%20Types%20of%20chargers%206-17-13.pdf?id=4294989763&dl=t

 

[LeftieBiker]

I wasn't expecting every local dealer in Upstate NY to carry Bolts, but I did expect the Volt-certified dealerships to do so. It will be interesting to see if they do, as they seem to be having some trouble selling Volts...